What You Need To Know: With forward Blake Coleman (20 goals) suspended for Saturday and the status of forward Riley Barber (20 goals) in doubt after he was injured late in last weekend’s NCHC championship game win vs. St. Cloud State, Miami could face Providence without 32 percent of its goal production.

Burning Question: Seriously, how do the RedHawks get by Providence without Coleman and potentially Barber? In addition to sharing the team lead in goals, both have been on fire as of late. Coleman’s got eight goals and 13 points in his last six games; Barber’s got seven goals and 13 points in his last nine contests. Goals will be at a premium, especially against goalie Jon Gillies and the stingy Friars defense. It’ll be up to leading scorer Austin Czarnik to get others involved in the offense.

Most Recent Miami Line Chart

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95-Anthony Louis

7-Austin Czarnik

22-Kevin Morris

With 167 points in 158 games, Austin Czarnik is the tournament’s active scoring leader. He’s three points ahead of Minnesota’s Kyle Rau and five points in front of Minnesota State’s Matt Leitner.

What You Need To Know: The Pioneers eclipsed the 20-win plateau for the 14th straight season, the longest such streak in Division I hockey. North Dakota is second with 13 straight seasons of 20 wins or more.

Burning Question: Are we paying enough attention to the Pioneers? This team has all the ingredients to win a national championship—its best players (Danton Heinen, Trevor Moore, and Joey LaLeggia) come into the NCAA tournament playing their best hockey, a strong veteran presence with seven seniors in the lineup, and a very good defensive unit paced by LaLeggia, junior Nolan Zajac, and sophomore Will Butcher. If Denver gets steady play from the goaltending tandem of Tanner Jaillet and Evan Cowley, it could earn a trip back to Boston, site of its 2004 national title triumph.

Most Recent Denver Line Chart

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26-Evan Janssen

27-Quentin Shore

12-Ty Loney

Forward Danton Heinen enters the weekend with 45 points, the most by a Pioneers freshman since Dave Shields scored 48 points in 1986-87.

What You Need To Know: The Eagles and Denver, their first-round opponent, played a two-game series at Magness Arena Oct. 31-Nov. 1. The two teams split, each winning a 2-1 decision. Ryan Fitzgerald scored two goals in the BC win; Danton Heinen scored both Denver goals in the Pioneers’ overtime victory.

Burning Question: Are the Eagles really going to rely on goaltending and defense? Boston College has scored 105 goals to date which, barring a national championship run, will be the team’s lowest output since its 96 goals in 1961-62. Fortunately, the Eagles can lean on goalie Thatcher Demko and the most talented defensive corps in college hockey, which includes one first-round NHL draft pick (Michael Matheson), two second-round selections (Ian McCoshen and Steve Santini), and a sure-fire first-rounder in the 2015 draft (Noah Hanifin). Goals may be at a premium for BC, but this year’s Eagles are built to win that way.

Most Recent Boston College Line Chart

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19-Ryan Fitzgerald

26-Austin Cangelosi

11-Chris Calnan

Saturday’s game features two of the tournament’s highest-scoring defensive corps. BC’s blueliners have totaled 97 points this season (fifth among NCAA tourney teams); DU’s rearguards are tied for second with 111 points.

What You Need To Know: Providence is making back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances for the first time in school history. The Friars made three trips to the national tournament between 1981-1985, but had a year off between each berth.

Burning Question: Can a baseball analogy work for the Friars? The strength of this Providence team is up the middle with goaltender Jon Gillies, one of the best in the country, and three very good centers in senior Ross Mauermann and juniors Noel Acciari and Mark Jankowski. And while they’re not explosive offensively, how many goals the Friars score is often secondary to when they score—Providence is 16-3-0 this season when it scores first. Taking a lead, holding on to it, and turning the game over to the closer in Gillies isn’t a bad strategy.

Most Recent Providence Line Chart

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22-Brandon Tanev

24-Noel Acciari

18-Nick Saracino

The Friars have scored a total of 17 goals in its 13 losses. Nine of Providence’s losses have been by one goal and four of them have come in overtime.